Savovic invited to prestigious event
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The regular season might be wrapping up, but the honors are just beginning for Predrag Savovic.
Savovic, the star guard for the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team, was invited yesterday to play in the Portsmouth Invitational in April.
Only 64 of the nation's top seniors will be invited, and Savovic is just the third Rainbow Warrior to be invited to the event in recent years.
"It's an honor, but I don't know too much about it, so I don't know what to say right now," said Savovic, who had not yet received the actual invitation yesterday.
The event, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year, is scheduled for April 4-7 at Portsmouth, Va. Players will participate in various drills and scrimmages before approximately 300 NBA coaches and scouts.
Savovic was invited based primarily on the recommendation of Marty Blake, the NBA Director of Scouting. Blake watched Savovic play in several road games this season.
"I've liked his game for a long time," Blake said. "He's a big, strong, tough kid who I think has a good shot at making it on the next level."
Savovic's younger brother, Slobodan, was also invited. He is a senior guard at Ohio State.
"It'll be fun to have the two brothers," said Stanley Quash, the assistant director for the Portsmouth Invitational. "I have a hard time pronouncing their names, but I know they can play."
Savovic, who is 6 feet 6, is averaging a team-high 20.2 points per game. He also leads the team with 53 3-pointers and a .402 shooting percentage from 3-point range.
In three years at UH, he has scored 1,270 points, which is the sixth best total in school history. With 156 career 3-pointers, he is five away from becoming the career UH leader in that category.
Because a similar event in Arizona was canceled this year, Blake said Savovic will get a chance to showcase his skills before some of the NBA's elite decision-makers.
"Predrag is a little older (25) than most of the guys, but that also means he's more mature," Blake said. "I think he'll impress a lot of people."
UH head coach Riley Wallace called the invitation "deserving," but was not sure if Savovic would accept. Similar events will be held around the same time in Atlanta and Chicago.
What's more, Wallace does not want Savovic to become distracted with such events just yet.
The 'Bows will play Tulsa in a first-place showdown tomorrow at the Stan Sheriff Center. Tulsa guard Greg Harrington also received an invitation to Portsmouth.
The only other UH players invited to the event in recent years were Tony Maroney in 1995, and Alika Smith in 1998. Maroney participated, but Smith did not.
"We'll have to wait and see how things work out for (Savovic)," Wallace said.
